Description:

Henri Matisse was a painter of vivid colors. From 1913 – 1917, however, he radically changed his style and palette. By collaborating with Art Institute conservators and scientists, Northwestern engineering research teams turned up significant clues as to how Matisse’s famous painting “Bathers by a River” evolved during its painting. Along with understanding the history of the Matisse work, researchers have also uncovered the sources of coloration of an ancient jade sculpture called “The Kneeling Figure,” the reasons a dramatic sky disappeared from Winslow Homer’s watercolor “For to be a Farmer’s Boy,” the culprits (burning coal and light exposure) behind the faded brilliance of Seurat’s oil painting “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte” and the provenance of a number of modern bronze sculptures, including some by Picasso.

Professor Faber will discuss the coupling of science, engineering, and art which builds bridges across disciplines and across the city enabling a new kind of art history through the recently established Northwestern University-Art Institute of Chicago Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts.